"When you consider Council is spending at least £1m refurbishing the Pyramids, just before we knock it down, you might also think, if we have a spare million for this, we should have a spare million for better recycling in Exeter."

We hear the phrase ‘broken promises’ too often in politics. I attended the Scrutiny Committee which considered Exeter Labour’s manifesto commitment to introduce city-wide food waste recycling this week. The report before the committee recommended not introducing a food waste recycling Service, thereby breaking Exeter Labour’s 2016 election promise.

This committee is chaired by a Labour Councillor. Seven out of the nine Members on this committee are Labour Councillors, including Exeter Labour’s ‘Champion for Food Waste Recycling’. Yet, this committee voted to bin food waste recycling in what I’m calling – a rubbish deal for Exeter.

The overwhelming Labour populated committee claimed to be ‘disappointed’ that Labour couldn’t make good on their promise. It seems however, Exeter just can’t afford a food waste recycling service.

Let’s examine this claim. The Labour-run Council commissioned a consultant’s report to detail the various food recycling options. In answer to my question, the Committee was told, ratepayers coughed up £16,214 for this report. A sum roughly equivalent to what a recycling operative gets paid for an entire year, before tax.

The committee claimed this report was value for money. Whilst this might be true, surely, commissioning a report and then not carrying out the intended (and promised) purpose, cannot represent value for money. Not when we could have paid an extra worker at Exeter’s recycling facility for a whole year with the proceeds.

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This aside, there are some significant set up costs involved in introducing food waste recycling in Exeter. Roughly £1m for the most cost effective option, so says the report.

You might think, this is too much money. However, when you consider Council is spending at least £1m refurbishing the Pyramids, just before we knock it down, you might also think, if we have a spare million for this, we should have a spare million for better recycling in Exeter.

Of course, money doesn’t grow on trees and we can't fund everything. However, the extensive consultant’s report we all paid for says, at least some of the food waste recycling options, will actually pay for themselves. Add this to the fact that over time, the service will bring in much needed revenue to the Council, it’s hard to conclude Exeter can’t afford food waste recycling.

Also, as per last month’s budget, in Exeter we will shortly have to find efficiencies on top of our efficiencies. Therefore, extra food waste revenue could help frontline Council services, now under serious austerity pressure.

If this wasn’t enough reason to act, Exeter’s recycling rate is just 33%. Well below the Government target of 50% – a target which Teignbridge, with their food waste recycling service, manages to hit.

This is why I told the committee, ratepayers not only want this service but, based on the fact Exeter is the only District in Devon not to offer a food waste recycling service, ratepayers now expect this service.

To support this claim, Exeter Green Party recently conducted a community survey. Over 600 residents signed our petition calling on the Council to deliver their promised food recycling service. Of course, this was rubbished by one Labour Committee member claiming, residents might have been asked the wrong question.

Even if this were so, as a member of the public said to me after the meeting, I don’t recall any residents being asked whether they wanted a £1m refurbishment for the soon to be demolished Pyramids. Or, whether residents wanted to borrow £7m to build the increasingly unpopular leisure centre project.

Be this as it may, the administration’s position is that introducing food waste recycling now, might pose ‘a significant financial risk’. This is of course, despite the fact the most cost effective option creates jobs, brings in revenue and, will help Exeter improve its inadequate recycling rates.

With the election just weeks away, breaking a manifesto commitment is a very brave position.